Prince Harry Introduced Meghan Markle to His Favorite 98-Year-Old Australian

It was just a couple of months ago that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry reportedly decided to do the impossible and take a break from the public eye, but naturally, they're all over the news yet again—thanks in large part to the news that they're expecting their first child. (The official announcement was made on Monday, though the couple reportedly stole the show from Princess Eugenie over her wedding at the weekend by seizing the family gathering as an opportunity to fill their fellow royals in, before making an early departure for their 16-day tour of Fiji, New Zealand, Tonga, and Australia, having diligently sought some expert advice on the risk of the Zika virus, which causes birth defects.)

Sydney, then, turned out to be where the couple did their first public meet-and-greet since sharing the news. Despite being 10,000 miles away from home, things felt homey soon enough thanks to one local in particular. While greeting the hundreds assembled outside of the Sydney Opera House on Tuesday—and accepting gifts like bouquets, a stuffed koala, and even a pair of Uggs—Prince Harry spotted a familiar face in the crowd: that of 98-year-old Daphne Dunne, a former corporal in the Australian Women’s Army Service, whom he's managed to keep in touch with since their first meeting in 2015, during which Dunne memorably kissed him on the cheek. (They also reunited while Prince Harry was in Sydney last year, after Dunne, in her wheelchair, patiently waited for him in the rain.)

Prince Harry's first meeting with Daphne Dunne at the Sydney Opera House in May 2015 in Sydney, Australia.

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This time around, Prince Harry greeted Dunne with a hug before introducing her to Markle, who also greeted her like an old friend: "I’m so happy to finally meet you. I’ve heard so much about you—all good things," she told the 98-year-old, who held her hand and caressed Prince Harry's face as they continued to exchange pleasantries. Following Dunne's requisite congratulations on the baby news, Prince Harry complimented her "very cool" shoes and asked if she'd dyed her hair a shade of pink, before accepting her gifts of cards and flowers and making way for Markle to yet again showcase her charm, telling Dunne, "Hopefully next time we see you, we’ll have a little one with us!"

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry greeting—and admiring the shoes of—Daphne Dunne as they arrive for a public walkabout at the Sydney Opera House on October 16, 2018 in Sydney, Australia.

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The pair may have just begun their trip, but they've already been keeping good company: Earlier in the day, they stopped by the Australian Governor-General's residence, where they received their first baby gift: a stuffed animal kangaroo named Joey.

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex accepting their "first baby gift," a plush kangaroo, with Australia's Governor General Peter Cosgrove and wife Lynne Cosgrove at Admiralty House in Sydney on October 16, 2018 in Sydney, Australia.

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They then headed off to spend time with even more joeys at the nearby Taronga Zoo, aka the home of several animals, like a newborn new Okapi calf, who'd just been named in their honor. In between hearing from conversation scientists about illegal wildlife trafficking, Prince Harry and Markle also got to spend some time with two koalas and their babies, as well as a drooling echidna named Lynx, and couldn't have looked more thrilled about it.